Black Wolf by Juan Gómez-Jurado – A Review

“With his sharp and immersive writing style that quickly succeeds in drawing the reader into a plot with no time to breathe, building tension with each scene and punctuating them with twists and turns, Gómez-Jurado manages to craft a commentary on power, the abuse of intellectual prowess, and the ways in which people use and manipulate others for personal gain. It delves into the ethics of decisions made under duress and the limits of human tolerance when pushed to the edge.”

Timing, as they say, is everything. On the heels of the release of the popular Amazon Prime streaming series, Red Queen, which was the first of the Antonia Scott series, narrating the adventures of Antonia, the uniquely brilliant but deeply troubled young woman whose extraordinary abilities to solve problems and think strategically are almost superhuman, calling her into action to help a detective solve crime, sees bookshops stocking, Black Wolf, the second installment in the series.

Black Wolf (or Loba Negra in its original Spanish) by Juan Gómez-Jurado is an equally gripping thriller, which takes readers deeper into the complex world of protagonist, Antonia Scott, delivering a dark but action-packed story brimming with suspense, and psychological depth.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books (12 March 2024) Pan Macmillan India
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250853699
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250853691

The first book introduces Antonia trapped in a world of isolation and personal tragedy, contemplating ways she can kill herself, not exactly a ringing endorsement of a purpose to a life that is about to become drawn into an extraordinary plot. In Black Wolf, she is once again forced to confront her past, her thoughts of self-harm as she resists the dangerous forces that seek to exploit her.

The story opens with a violent and chaotic event that sets the stage for a taut narrative. Antonia, working under intense pressure, is forced to collaborate with Jon Gutiérrez, her enabler, first introduced in Red Queen, who is tasked with ensuring her safety and bringing her back into the fold of a complex international plot.

As the plot moves forward, Antonia and Jon are pursued by adversaries who will stop at nothing to take hijack Antonia’s intellect for their own sinister purposes. Their interactions evolve, exploring themes of trust, betrayal, and survival. Antonia’s inner struggles, particularly with her low sense of self-esteem and tendency towards isolation, form an integral part of the emotional core of the story.

This time, central to the story is the notion of redemption. Antonia’s journey is one that not only confronts external threats but is also about looking in the mirror and examining the emotional scars that she carries.

Antonia is rife with contradictions: acutely intelligent but emotionally unavailable, capable of extraordinary feats yet deeply wounded at her core by personal loss. Gómez-Jurado capably develops Antonia’s character, exhibiting a fragility juxtaposed against the resilience of her psyche.

Jon who serves as Watson to Antonia’s Sherlock, manages to round to Antonia’s sharpness with his grounded and relatable personality. Still, he is not without his own struggles, both internal and external, which deepen the story’s emotional impact. Their dynamic, both confrontational and poignant, build a compelling relationship that only evolves as they navigate their contours of the dangerous world in which they exist.

The narrative is filled with brief, punchy chapters that keep the reader engaged and motivated to keep going, while the multiple perspectives give depth to the unfolding story. The writing is accessible, but with enough intricacy to satisfy fans of the thriller genre looking for more than just action.

With his sharp and immersive writing style that quickly succeeds in drawing the reader into a plot with no time to breathe, building tension with each scene and punctuating them with twists and turns, Gómez-Jurado manages to craft a commentary on power, the abuse of intellectual prowess, and the ways in which people use and manipulate others for personal gain. It delves into the ethics of decisions made under duress and the limits of human tolerance when pushed to the edge.

However, these thematic undercurrents do not settle, which is a shame, for the brisk pacing and the high-octane action sometimes undoes the exploration of deeper meaning. For a literature buff, this would be a disappointment. That said, perhaps that’s part of the appeal for the audience with which the author wishes to connect: this isn’t a book meant to explore the human condition as much as it is to entertain. And, that it does, with Spanish gusto!